Colleges Offering Physician Assistant Programs

University of Florida

• The University of Florida offers an 80-credit physician assistant program. Students take courses for two semesters and two summer sessions, followed by a year of clinical experience. Courses cover topics such as gross anatomy, clinical procedures, patient evaluations and medical communications. Clinical experience is completed in locations throughout the state of Florida, including Gainesville, Orlando and Miami. Students rotate through various medical specialties, such as primary care, pediatrics, and general surgery. Applicants to the program need a bachelor's degree and must complete prerequisite courses including anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry and statistics prior to enrolling in the program. The University of Florida also recommends that applicants complete 2000 hours of hands-on patient care experience as a paid employee or unpaid volunteer before beginning the physician assistant program.

  University of Florida
  School of Physician Assistant Studies
  PO Box 100176
  Gainesville, FL 32610-0176
  352-265-7955
  ufl.edu

Seton Hall University

• The physician assistant program at Seton Hall University started in 2000 in response to a statewide shortage of physician assistants. The 96-credit program takes three years to complete. First-year students take courses in clinical medicine, pharmacology, neuroscience and diagnostic methods. During the second and third years, students take courses in nutrition, epidemiology and health care issues. Clinical rotations are completed in specialty areas including psychiatry, geriatrics, surgery and pediatrics. Competitive applicants have a bachelor's degree and have earned at least a "C" in prerequisite courses such as microbiology, precalculus and chemistry. Prospective students also need at least 100 hours of health care experience and three recommendations.

  Seton Hall University
  400 South Orange Avenue
  South Orange, NJ 07079
  973-761-9000
  shu.edu

University of Toledo

• The physician assistant program at the University of Toledo is seven semesters long and students take between seven and 15 credits each semester. Coursework covers topics such as interviewing and taking medical histories, pharmacology, medical ethics and clinical medicine. Clinical experience consists of rotations in areas including internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics and emergency medicine. Applicants need a bachelor's degree and a grade of "B-" or better in prerequisite courses such as psychology, chemistry, algebra and medical terminology. Prospective applicants are not required to have formal health care experience. However, they must complete a CPR course and keep the certification current for the duration of the PA program.

  University of Toledo
  2801 Bancroft
  Toledo, OH 43606-3390
  800-586-5336
  utoledo.edu

Stanford University

• The Primary Care Associate program at Stanford University trains physician assistants through a combination of three weeks of clinical training and one week of on-campus classes each month for 16 months. The program is geared towards students with extensive health care experience; at least 3,000 hours of direct patient care experience are required of applicants to the program. Coursework covers medical sciences such as anatomy and genetics and clinical medicine lectures. Clinical coursework includes behavioral medicine and training in diagnosis and problem solving. Students are placed in rotations in family medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine, surgery, and obstetrics/gynecology. Applicants to the program need to complete prerequisite courses in microbiology, anatomy, psychology and algebra with a minimum grade of "C."

  Stanford University
  Primary Care Associate Program
  Stanford University School of Medicine
  1215 Welch Road, Modular G
  Palo Alto, CA 94305-5408
  650-725-6959
  pcap.stanford.edu